August 6, 2019
When I say that June was a hot month, I mean it in two ways. Temperature wise it was the hottest month in recorded history for the planet Earth. I think you can also relate to that. As the studio does not have it’s own A/C keeping it cool can be a challenge. If I turn the temperature down low in the house, there is a cooling effect in the studio as the furnace/ AC is in the studio. And we have the ceiling fan which helps a lot. Still, by the end of class, it can be warm there.
That, however, did not adversely affect class attendance. There was a total of 19 scheduled classes and 5 of those were a workshop for Jayden Henkelman where we have two sessions each day. So in reality I taught 23 classes. That kept me focused. Lets have a look at the July artists.
Luke Carlson was the first July student, coming in on the 3rd., Luke is scheduling more and more classes and his work shows that effort.
Gracie Bucher followed that with a lesson on the 5th of July. This class was a reward for completing her piano lessons. As you can see, her painting turned out great.
On July 7th, Jayden Henkelman began a 5 day workshop. It consisted of 5 days where we spend the morning hours working on a practice canvas. Following a lunch break we would then complete a painting using the techniques practiced that morning. On day 5, the entire session was devoted to the completion of a really nice painting which we framed before he left the studio. Have a look at each days paintings.
In the middle of Jayden’s workshop I had a request from an Airbnb patron for an evening class. Lindsen was on a 3 month summer excursion. She has an art website and does beautiful work, but wanted to learn more about the layering technique that wet on wet painting allows. This is Lindsey Orrin.
Eliza Lee returned to the studio for her second class on the 15th of July. Take a look at her beautiful reflected mountains with a pink background. This is a very popular painting and she did a terrific job on it.
July 19th. Brothers, Jacob and Sawyer Heider also returned for a second painting session. They worked on a pink background and did a mountain without the reflection. Take a look
I met TJ Adams at Art in the Park 2018 and some time back he had purchased gift certificates for his sons, Cohen and Raiden Adams. On the 22nd Cohen came to the studio for his first painting experience and he demonstrated excellent skills.
The following day was extra special for me. JT Ker was a student of mine when I first began teaching. He was 10 at the time and his dad made sure that every time I was in their neck of the woods JT was in each class I taught. Now he is all grown up, married, and an excellent artist. Certainly he has the knowledge and skills to teach his wife to paint, but instead he had me teach her lesson #1. What a compliment to me and what a wonderful time we had that day. Lets look at what JT and Amanda Ker did that day.
I have made some modifications to the studio by cutting down the painting station that Wanda used so I can squeeze in a third student. On July 24 Carter, Olivia and Pierce Welch all painted at the same time. As you can see, we did make some modifications to the canvas so each painting had its own personality. These are good first paintings.
July 25, 26 and 27 were devoted to selling paintings at the Twin Falls Art in the Park 2019. It was a bit harder this year without the assistance of Wanda, but I did sell more paintings. I even found a little time to do paint demonstrations. I want to thank Ayda Bowman and Jayden Henkelman who did demo paintings Friday and Saturday mornings and afternoons. Thanks to both of them for doing this. They had lots of people watching and they both did great paintings. We also did some joint paintings where I would paint a section and they would paint another. We took turns developing a new landscape and they really turned out great.
Clair Hardesty painted again on July 29th. As you can see, her skills are improving rapidly.
And, the last class of the month was with Raiden Adams who used his coupon on the 29th. We had a great time and he did really well.
August looks like it will be busy enough. Class dates are beginning to fill up. We had a yard sale on the 2nd and 3rd where we sold a bunch of paintings and much of Wanda’s personal items. Thanks to each of you who came and those who purchased one of her paintings… We will do it again in September but at a different location. Stay tuned, I will let you know when we decide to schedule it
July Student of the Month
Selecting the Student of the Month has become a real challenge. There are so many who come to the studio and produce excellent works of art. But, as you know, it goes far beyond who completes the best painting. It also takes into consideration how well they respond to instruction, how well they are able to transfer the techniques I demonstrate to their canvas.
Again, I have many who score high in each of these areas. My pick for the July Student of the Month is Lindsey Orrin. This young woman is traveling the United States and Canada this summer. She resides in Lenoir City, Tennessee and learned of me using the Airbnb service. She is a talented artist but had never been successful using the wet on wet approach. She was a sponge for knowledge. Her first JOP painting turned out great. Below you will find her finished painting.
Congratulations Lindsey!
Take care my friends and remember KEEP YOUR BRUSHES CLEAN… CLEAN THEM TWICE. THE FINAL TIME WITH CLEAN THINNER.
Pat Alsup CRI®